2003 Archive

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HEADLINE: SYSTEM OUTAGE – Nov 30, 8 am to noon
November 2003 I received the following email from Endian-Networks (the ISP that hosts GuideToBeadwork.com) on Nov 25:

On Sunday, November 30th, from 8:00AM until Noon, all Endian Networks, Inc. server equipment will be down for system upgrades.

GTB.com was offline during this period. The upgrade apparently went smoothly and no problems were reported.
HEADLINE: Now Associated with Barnes and Noble
August 2003 The first step in creating a beading bookstore at GTB has been taken. By using any of our Barnes and Noble links when shopping for books about beading, you will be helping to support GTB. As a Barnes and Noble associate, we will receive a small percentage of each purchase you make there during your visit and at no extra cost to you! Thanks in advance!! You can also use our amazon.com links to support us when you shop there. Every little bit helps.
HEADLINE: SURVEY RESULTS
July 2003 A few websites and mailing lists have already manifested as popular beading resource destinations and current results have been posted. I plan to update them as needed but not more than once or twice a month. I’ve started a notification mailing list for those who wish to be informed when new results are posted. If you’d like to sign up, just send an email .
HEADLINE: Your OPINION is NEEDED
June 2003 We are redesigning our Beading Resources page and have decided to let our users decide which resources are the most valuable to them. We would very much appreciate it if you would take just a few minutes to VOTE for your favorite website and mailing list. The survey will remain active as long as needed. We are hoping to identify beading resources that stand head and shoulders above the rest.GTB has always been about free information for beaders that is USEFUL. I feel this has not been the case on the resources page for some time now. I am hoping this new approach will solve this problem and that the Beading Resources page will soon contain links to the best and brightest resources once again, adding another dimension to the usefulness of GuideToBeadwork.com to its visitors.

When GTB was launched back in 1996, there were only about 100 stores in the retail store list and just a handful of good resources so it was relatively easy for one person to examine potential candidates and decide which to include. Now there are almost 1,600 stores in the list (with new ones coming in daily) and hundreds of resource websites and mailing lists. It has gotten beyond my capability to keep up with the Resources page on my own. The fact that I am not a beader myself doesn’t help either.

Thanks in advance if you decide to participate!

HEADLINE: theBeadSite.com IS MOVING
May 2003 Word has finally arrived regarding theBeadSite.com’s future from the Center for Bead Research, the organization formerly directed by Peter Francis, Jr. who passed away in Dec 2002. The Center is passing the reins to another organization which I am not in contact with. Please monitor the website itself (www.theBeadSite.com) for further developments.
HEADLINE: theBeadSite.com STILL ACTIVE (?)
April 2003 Earlier news indicated that TBS was closing down at the end of March, 2003. The site seems to be still active at this writing. The Chat Room / Bulletin Board, while still active, is not being moderated and is not of any use at this time for bead-related questions which was its original purpose. I have written several times to find out the current status but have received no response. I will post any further information I receive here.
HEADLINE: WEBMASTER BREAKS KNEE!
March 2003 Yes, it’s true. Upper tibial plateau. No weight for three months (lots of pins and screws and stuff like that).About all I can do right now (first week back from hospital) is sit at the computer for short periods so I plan to create a long-overdue About Us section as well as an Online Bookstore..

GTB has been my hobby and a learning enviroment for me until now that my circumstances have changed fairly drastically. I can no longer wash dishes and do courier work for banks for a while at least. These were my main income so it is time to find out if GTB can generate enough revenue to keep it going..

HEADLINE: SPAM on the RISE
February 2003 GuideToBeadwork.com NEVER sends unsolicited email which include attachments of any kind.If you receive mail which looks like it is from us, but has one or more attachments, DO NOT OPEN IT. The From address has been forged and it is most likely from a hacker trying to infect your machine with a virus. Quite insidious IMHO, using an address that the hacker figures will be trusted by the receiver.

Please forward any obvious spam (with full headers) which has been forged to look like it came from me before deleting if you would be so kind. I hate these guys and do everything in my power to track them down. Unfortunately, there usually isn’t much I can do.

Thanks in advance and profuse apologies for the inconvenience to those affected.

HEADLINE: theBeadSite.com CLOSING March, 2003
February 2003 Another great loss to the beading world. I received the following from the estate of Peter Francis (who died suddenly on Dec. 8, 2002)

“thebeadsite will be functional until the end of March 2003… It would be greatly appreciated if you could inform the bead outlets on your data base that the site will be closing.”

GuideToBeadwork.com has been “joined at the hip” to theBeadSite.com for several years. It has been an awesome fit. Is there another beading information powerhouse website out there that would benefit from linking strongly with our list of over 1,400 stores and instructions for making seven beaded jewelry stitches? Please do a feedback form if you have any ideas and thanks in advance. (The Center for Bead Research has informed me that the future of TBS is still undecided and as of February 23, I have not heard further)

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